City Council likely to OK Farm lights

COSTA MESA ? After months of debate, the City Council on Tuesday looked ready to vote to include permanent lights at the Farm Sports Complex in the 2006-07 budget.

The controversial lights were part of a $126.8-million budget the council debated. City leaders had not voted on the budget by press time.

If approved, next year’s budget will spend about 7% more than the 2005-06 budget. Capital projects, such as sidewalks on part of Broadway and a major rehabilitation of nine streets, would account for $14.4 million of the spending.

It was an unusually politicized budget, with issues such as athletic facilities and immigration enforcement that are likely to figure heavily in the November council elections. Mayor Allan Mansoor and a number of hopefuls will contend for two seats.

The top issue Tuesday was the field lights. Some homeowners who live near the Farm have said that the lights would spill into their yards and that more use of the fields would generate more noise and trash, diminishing their enjoyment of their homes.

Mansoor proposed, and the council agreed in a 3-2 vote, that the city spend $188,462 to fund an immigration enforcement plan he spearheaded. The council voted in December to give some police officers federal immigration training, but little has happened since then ? other than a political uproar ? because the city would model its plan after one created by Orange County Sheriff Mike Carona. The county plan has not been approved.

Councilman Gary Monahan criticized a proposal, suggested by Mansoor and parks commission Chairwoman Wendy Leece, that nine of the 18 holes at the Costa Mesa Golf and Country Club be turned into athletic fields. Critics have complained that the plan shortchanges one athletic group in favor of another.

Council members voted to include in the budget a $303,551 plan to eradicate gangs from the city in five years.

The plan, created by Councilwoman Katrina Foley and two Police Department officials, would add two officers to the gang unit, hire a full-time parole officer and bring in a specialist to prevent young people from joining gangs.

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